14 Iraq border police killed at fake checkpoint

Militants set up a fake checkpoint in west Iraq and ambushed a convoy of border policemen on Wednesday, killing 14 and setting fire to the bodies of two of their victims, officials said. The checkpoint was set up along the main highway connecting Iraq to Saudi Arabia, with the attack taking place near the town of Nukhaib. At about 11:00 am (0800 GMT), the border guards were travelling along the highway in three unmarked civilian cars in order to begin their shifts at various checkpoints, Major General Yasir Assem from the border guards said. They were stopped at the fake checkpoint where the gunmen opened fire and killed all 14 of them, and set fire to two of their bodies. A medic at the clinic in Nukhaib, which lies about 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of the holy Shiite shrine city of Karbala, confirmed the toll.